Archive for the tag “Fire Department”

Corpus Christi Battalion chief Mickey Flores visited the Fort Worth Fire Department to learn more about a program that may help those who frequently need to call Emergency Services for help, but don’t actually need an ambulance

Walk through of the new Station 5 Bay: As you can see I started in the back of the building and made my way towards the front. Parked in front of the building is the newly dedicated Engine 5 also known as “Top Gun”

Station 5 covers from Hwy 121 on the North to Berry Street on the South and from University Street on the West to Interstate 820 on the East An approximation of the service area is shown here: http://g.co/maps/w4xku. They cover roughly 1/4 of the city and due to it’s location + ease of highway also covers all highway call in the area.

There are 15 Firefighters working at Station 5, 5 per shift. Four ride on the engine (including either a Captain or Lieutenant) and one is assigned to the EMS truck.

A Little History:

The first Station 5 was built in 1890 (near 400 block of Bryan Avenue) and was also a Community Hall. There, began a long history of its association with the community

The second Station 5 was built in 1911 (near the same location), was no longer a community hall but was still an integral part of the neighborhood it served

The third Station 5 was built in 1965 (at 1000 Evans Street), where it would be housed till 2012, and continued the tradition of community involvement helping neighborhood kids with their bikes (incuding repairs) and even giving them to kids who didn’t have one.

Construction for the new station has been in the works for two years and the actual construction has taken about one year, costing in the neighborhood of 3.5 – 4.5 million dollars. Friday April 27, 2012 marked 3 weeks “in the house” and the official grand opening / open house took place Saturday April 28, 2012 FWFD station 5 Grand Opening/ Open House

At 5 or 10K SF (information sources vary & I am awaiting confirmation) the station is 3 times the size of most other stations and is said to be the largest (or at least one of the largest) stations in the city and is completely ADA compliant. The price tag was said to be in the neighborhood of 3.5 to 4.5 million dollars.

Chaplain Brown led everyone in a short prayer on the behalf of the Fire Fighters of Station 5 as well as for the building, & equipment.

Chaplain Brown

First up was Fire Chief Rudolph ‘Rudy’ Jackson: ‘We want you to get to know your local firefighters; to see them as friends and neighbors, not just strangers in uniform/gear’ He went on to mention that Station 5 is a “prototype” station and is one of the busiest engine companies in the city averaging 10 calls a day

Fire Chief Rudy Jackson

Next up was Mayor Betsy Price: speaking on, among other things, the location of the station. ‘My realtor friends say that it is all about location, location, location’